


Baptism of fire

by secret170193



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Prisoner Zuko (Avatar), Western Air Temple, Zuko Joins The Gaang (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29777910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secret170193/pseuds/secret170193
Summary: When Zuko tries to join the gaang at the western air temple, they actually take him up on his offer and he becomes their prisoner. Zuko can't help but feel he deserves it, while the others slowly realise just how much they're hurting him.
Relationships: The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 186





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A work in progress, I'll probably edit/add to the tags later with Chapter 2.  
> For anyone wondering, the phrase "a baptism of fire" means to be pushed/tested in a new experience/position by having to deal with difficult or unexpected circumstances 

Silence fell over the courtyard of the air temple. Nobody moved for a good minute until finally Toph broke the silence.

“You want to what now?”

Zuko took a breath, trying to keep his heart rate from soaring. 

“I want to teach firebending. Um.. to the Avatar.”

It was Katara who stepped forward, a fury raging in her eyes that made them seem more icy than Zuko had ever seen.

“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you!? I mean how stupid do you think we are!?”

Zuko could feel himself tense. They were mad, of course they were. But they weren’t his father or Azula, they wouldn’t just blast him off the side of the temple... would they? He knew Sokka couldn’t blast him anyway but he still felt unease when the other teenager yelled at him.

“Yeah, all you’ve ever done is hunt us down and try to capture Aang!”

Okay, he couldn’t argue with that, that was very much accurate. But he had to win them over somehow. He had nowhere else to go and he'd be killed on sight if he was spotted by soldiers.

“I’ve done some good things. I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free! That’s something.”

Mostly true, Zuko had his doubts now that he'd have managed to steal the bison, not without it crushing him, but that wasn’t the point. And right on cue he felt a massive wet tongue drag up his back. Any other time and he might have leapt away with an indignant yelp but every movement could trigger an attack from any of the others, so he kept himself under control.

“Appa does seem to like him...”

Zuko almost felt a swell of hope when the little earthbending girl spoke. She'd known him the least over the last few months so he hoped deep down she might be the one to convince the others to trust him.

“He probably just covered himself in honey or something so Appa would lick him. I’m not buying it.”

Or not. Zuko sighed and turned his head away a little, subconsciously keeping his good eye to them.

“I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past...”

Own up to his mistakes, that’s what Uncle Iroh would have him do. Own up and ask for forgiveness. 

“Like when you attacked our village?”

“Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us!?”

This wasn’t working, they still hated him, of course they did. But maybe this wasn’t about them liking him or trusting him. He had to make things right, no matter what, and if that meant helping people who rightfully loathed him then so be it.

“Look, I admit I’ve done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you and I’m sorry I attacked the water tribe. And I never should have sent that fire nation assassin after you. I’m gonna try to stop-...”

“Wait! You sent Combustion man after us!?”

Shit. Zuko didn’t know they had no idea that was his fault. One more thing to add to his list of fuck-ups. 

“Well, that's not his name but...”

Sokka scoffed.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your friend.”

Zuko snapped.

“He's not my friend!”

Zuko just barely stopped himself from bristling defensively. He couldn't, not now, they'd never let him near if he did. Toph pointed directly at Zuko, a feat he'd have marvelled at a little if he wasn’t so stressed.

“That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!”

Zuko took a breath, grounding himself slowly. They were right, of course they were. He deserved every piece of hatred they threw at him. Though one of them didn’t seem to be giving him the grief he so obviously deserved.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me.”

Something deep inside Zuko twisted as he watched Aang turn his head away in conflicted thought. Then suddenly, the other shoe dropped. 

“There’s no way we can trust you after everything you’ve done. We'll never let you join us.”

That was it then. They were condemning him to death. Sooner or later he'd be found and killed, no matter who won the war. And he deserved it. Katara gave him a pointed glare. 

“You need to get out of here. Now.”

A scared desperation crept into Zuko's expression. His destiny was to make things right, whether he made it through the war or not. 

“I’m trying to explain that I’m not that person anymore!”

Sokka stepped forward, just enough ahead of the others to make his protective stance obvious. 

“Either you leave, or we attack.”

Zuko's heart dropped somewhere into his stomach and, with a strange sense of finality, he found himself kneeling. 

“If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you’ll take me as a prisoner.”

He lowered his head and held out his wrists, feeling almost as vulnerable as he'd felt kneeling before his father all those years ago. Who's to say the result wouldn’t be the same. The others seemed to be quietly deliberating amongst themselves.

“We can’t keep him here, he's dangerous! If anything we should finally get rid of him!”

“Katara, we can’t just start killing people we don’t like.”

“Sure we can, I do it all the time.”

“Not helping, Toph.”

Zuko resisted the urge to look up when Aang spoke. He was the Avatar, no matter what the others said, his word was what they’d go on.

“Maybe it’s better if we do keep an eye on him..”

Silence. For a few moments Zuko wondered if he had to be alive to be ‘kept an eye on'. Suddenly rock shot up from the ground and, despite trying to suppress the urge, Zuko flinched. It wrapped around his wrists, pulling them back to the ground to pin them there. Every instinct screamed for him to struggle and fight, to avoid his inevitable punishment and likely death. But he managed to stay still despite his pounding heart. He lifted his head slowly as he heard someone approach, preparing mentally for some form of pain when he saw it was the Avatar. No.. Aang. He didn’t want to distance himself further from them by avoiding using their names. Aang was frowning but it seemed to be more at himself than at Zuko. To his knowledge, the Avatar had never taken a prisoner before, and the kid was just that, a kid. Of course the scenario made him uncomfortable. 

“We're going to keep you here like this until... well.. until we can figure out what to do.”

What to do with you, the words left unspoken rang in Zuko's ears. They might yet decide his crimes deserved death there and then, and he wouldn’t blame them. So, more than a bit dejected, Zuko just bowed his head in understanding, folding his legs to one side to get a bit more settled on the ground. He wasn’t going anywhere.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gaang start to realise the responsibility behind keeping a prisoner, especially when that prisoner is Zuko.

Zuko was beginning to feel the deep aches of a long day of travelling setting in. It didn’t help that nearby the others had set up a fire and started preparing food. Zuko hadn’t eaten since... well.. since before the eclipse. He hadn't exactly had time to pack food, so he'd just ignored his body's needs for the moment. It was hardly important when the fate of the world might partially rest on his actions. He could hear the others talking quietly, occasionally glancing over at him like they were looking at a caged lion-vulture waiting to strike. It was unnerving but deserved, so Zuko sighed and bowed his head. The sun had set a while ago and the air was starting to chill off. Nothing too bad, Zuko had lived through the North pole with only a little extra clothing after all. Still, his natural response to a sharp cold breeze was a shiver and a slight huff of fire breath to warm his chest. Almost immediately Katara was on her feet with her water skin open.

“No firebending!”

She definitely looked ready to strike and even the others seemed a bit surprised at her speed. Zuko tried to small himself a little more and bowed his head close to his chest as some form of sign that he didn’t intend on attacking them. 

“Sorry, I won’t do it again...”

He knew he’d have to spend the night being cold but if that's what it took to gain their trust, then it was a small price to pay. Katara glared, looking sceptical, but slowly sat herself back down to finish serving the stew they’d managed to cook. It smelt.. well.. not amazing, Zuko could tell it wasn’t seasoned even from a distance, but it was food and his stomach gave a loud rumble, breaking the silence. Zuko paled and quickly looked away. They weren’t going to feed him, that would be a waste of supplies, especially since they hadn’t seemed to have decided what to do with him yet. No point in feeding someone they might kill tomorrow. Zuko's trail of thought broke when a shadow fell over his face, tilting his head just enough to see who it was. The silhouette of the Avatar himself stood out against the campfire.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

It was less a question and more an acknowledgment. Still, Zuko bowed his head in a slight nod. Maybe it would make them feel better or safer to know that through inactivity they were still technically punishing their former pursuer. At least, that's what he thought was happening until Katara's voice called out from by the fire.

“Aang, stay away from him! He's dangerous and the last thing we need to do is give him the strength to hurt us!”

Aang glanced over his shoulder with a soft but disapproving frown, a bowl of stew cupped in his hands.

“It doesn’t feel right, I don’t want to starve him. Besides, he's not broken free yet so...”

So he might be safe, Zuko knew Aang trusted far too easily but this was still much more than he expected. Katara folded her arms but seemed to give up that battle. Maybe they’d already argued over it by the fire where Zuko couldn’t hear them. Zuko watched in astonishment as Aang slowly crouched to the ground infront of him. The spindly airbender managed to balance on the balls of his feet like it was as easy as sitting but Zuko knew what that stance meant. It was a silent sign that Aang could spring away at a moments notice if Zuko tried anything. It was a sign of a lack of trust and yet... if he didn't trust Zuko, why would he want to give him food. 

Slowly, Aang began to hold the bowl out and it dawned on Zuko that he would have to let himself be fed, his hands still pinned hard to the ground. Zuko knew that months, maybe even weeks ago, he'd have been offended, disgusted at the thought of being treated like some dangerous pet. But now, he had to put aside his pride and prove he was here to help. Zuko took a slow breath, trying not to make eye contact with Aang as he pressed his lips to the bowl edge and gradually drank down what he could of the stew as it was tipped into his mouth. He could sense everyone watching and, his heart nervously pounding away in his chest, barely stopped himself choking a few times. If he so much as coughed he figured it might be mistaken for an attack and he'd never get to eat again.

Finally he finished the bowl, stifling a short splutter as some nearly went down the wrong way. He pulled his head back, pressing his chin to his chest so even Katara could see that if he breathed any flames he'd only burn himself. He kept his shoulders hunched and his head bowed, trying to look as humble and harmless as possible. 

“Thank you...”

Aang didn’t seem less uncomfortable, if anything the exchange seemed to have made him more uneasy about keeping Zuko trapped.

“Just um... tell us if you need food or water or.. something..?”

Zuko didn’t dare look up as he heard Katara's voice ring out in an annoyed huff.

“Stop offering him things, he's the enemy!”

Zuko turned his head away, the blotched red of his scar the only visible part of his face in the campfire light.

“I don’t want to be...”

But he didn’t know if anyone had heard him and by the time he turned his head back, Aang had long re-joined the others and Zuko was cold and alone once more. Not that he deserved any less. How long had he left Uncle alone and trapped? This was karma working, he deserved every moment of whatever punishment the Avatar and his friends came up with.

As the night went on, Zuko found himself drifting on the edge of unconsciousness. He hadn’t slept in over 24 hours and it was starting to wear on him. Still, could he risk falling asleep yet? He lifted his head wearily to see the Avatar and his friends getting their sleeping rolls ready. He felt a pang of envy but smothered it quickly with that same line. He deserved this. He deserved the cold stone floor that made his wrists ache numbly. He deserved to not get a wink of sleep. Even through half-lidded eyes, Zuko could see the figures by the fire discussing him.

“We'll have to keep watch in shifts, I don’t trust him so near us.”

“But Katara, he can’t even move, we'll be fine.”

Zuko was sure it was the Avatar speaking but all the shadowy figures were blurring together in his sight, his head swimming as the prospect of sleep began to take hold.

“I’ll take first watch.”

“Toph, you can’t even.. You know.. watch.”

The water tribe boy, Zuko couldn't bring his name to the front of his memory. He'd recall it in the morning.

“No, but I can do this. Three. Two. One.”

Zuko slumped over unconscious, gravity dragging him down onto his side, his wrists twisted at an awkward uncomfortable angle that didn’t even stir him from his sleep. Toph waved a hand in Zuko's general direction. 

“Aaand he's out.”

Katara glared warily at the limp form, folding her arms.

“How do we know he's not faking it?”

Toph gave Katara a look that clearly said she'd roll her eyes if she knew what that expression was.

“You might not, but I can feel it. His heart's been pounding all day until just then. Trust me, nobody can fake that.”

Aang had a deep troubled look on his face, still horribly torn up about the moral implications of keeping a prisoner, even if that prisoner was Zuko. 

“Let’s just.. get some sleep.”


End file.
